About the Istanbul Protocol

The Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly known as the Istanbul Protocol, outlines international, legal standards on protection against torture and sets out specific guidelines on how effective legal and medical investigations into allegations of torture should be conducted.

The Istanbul Protocol is an important source as it both reflects existing obligations of States under international treaty and customary international law and aids States to effectively implement relevant standards. It became a United Nations official document in 1999. The Istanbul Protocol is intended to serve as a set of international guidelines for the assessment of persons who allege torture and ill-treatment, for investigating cases of alleged torture, and for reporting such findings to the judiciary and any other investigative body. The investigation and documentation guidelines also apply to other contexts, including human rights investigations and monitoring, assessment of individuals seeking political asylum, the defence of individuals who “confess” to crimes during torture, and assessment of needs for the care of survivors of torture. In the case of health professionals who are coerced to neglect, misrepresent, or falsify evidence of torture, the manual also provides an international point of reference for health professionals and adjudicators alike.

The documentation guidelines apply to individuals who allege torture and ill-treatment, whether the individuals are in detention, applying for political asylum, refugees or internally displaced persons, or the subject of general human rights investigations. The guidelines provided cover a range of topics including:

Relevant international legal standards

Relevant Ethical Codes

Legal Investigation of Torture

General Considerations for Interviews

Physical Evidence of Torture

Psychological Evidence of Torture

Many procedures for a torture investigation are included in the manual, such as how to interview the alleged victim and other witnesses, selection of the investigator, safety of witnesses, how to collect alleged perpetrator’s statement, how to secure and obtain physical evidence, and detailed guidelines on how to establish a special independent commission of inquiry to investigate alleged torture and ill-treatment. The manual also includes comprehensive guidelines for clinical examinations to detect physical and psychological evidence of torture and ill-treatment.

The Istanbul Protocol also outlines minimum standards for state adherence to ensure the effective documentation of torture in its Principles on the Effective Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, or “Istanbul Principles” The guidelines contained in the Istanbul Protocol are not designed to be fixed, rather, they represent an elaboration of the minimum standards contained in the Istanbul Principles and should be applied in accordance with a reasonable assessment of available resources.

The Istanbul Protocol is a non-binding document. However, international law obliges governments to investigate and document incidents of torture and other forms of ill-treatment and to punish those responsible in a comprehensive, effective, prompt and impartial manner. The Istanbul Protocol is a tool for doing this.